文明的忧思——《罗慕拉》与《在西方的注视下》伦理主题比较研究

Disquiet Thoughts of Civilization——Comparative Studies of Ethic Theme of Romola and Under Western Eyes

维多利亚时代的英国社会既体验着工业文明的迅速发展所带来的物质繁荣,同时也承受着个人主义的甚嚣尘上造成的精神荒芜,人们奉行以现金联结(cash-nexus)为核心理念的社会价值体系。工业化进程中社会道德风尚的巨大变迁促使以乔治·艾略特、康拉德等为代表的伟大作家对时代弊端的严肃思考,他们在作品中彰显了他们的社会关切同时提出了建设性愿景。乔治·艾略特在作品中提倡爱、自我牺牲、同情等道德品质,认为追求个人幸福应当以不伤害他人利益为前提;康拉德则在提倡个人的道德意识的同时,更关注个体与社会的和谐共处。他希望通过唤起人们的负罪感和忏悔心来拯救人类的道德,认为只有以忏悔的心态面对道德的沦丧,走出个人主义的窠臼,才能获得最终的救赎。

The society of the United Kingdom in Victoria times has experienced the material prosperity brought by the rapid development of industrial civilization,but also bore the deserted spirit caused by the widely speculated individualism and people pursues to cash-nexus as the core concept of social value system.Great changes of social morality in the process of industrialization led to serious thinking about the maladies of the times by George Eliot and Conrad,representatives of great writers.They highlighted their social concerns and put forward constructive wishes in their works.In the works of George Eliot,he advocated moral qualities,such as love,self-sacrifice and compassion and he thought that individual＇s pursuit of happiness should not hurt the interests of others.And Conrad,in promoting personal moral consciousness at the same time,paid more attention to individual and social harmony.He hoped to save human being＇s morality by appealing to people＇s sense of guilt and repentance and he thought that we can only face moral decay of penance and get out of the trap of individualism in order to obtain the final redemption.